I'm told that in the various 'survivor' threads, the tracks Nick sings are getting something of a kicking. To a degree I can understand this - James has a phenomenal voice after all - but I strongly disagree with it. Nick's voice might not be classically good but it has a vulnerability to it that James' doesn't and suits some songs better than James' would. Also, I think when the two of them sing together, it adds an extra dimension to the songs.

And on top of all that, most of the songs Nick sings are great.

So, the point of this thread is to talk about how much we enjoy the songs Nick sings. Personal favourites of mine;

Intravenous Agnostic - James might sing the lead, but Nick's singing it with him, which gives the vocal a bit of gravel in the mix, entirely fitting with the rough production - and on the final chorus Nick's voice is actually turned up higher in the mix than James'.

Ballad Of The Bangkok Novotel - the Manics go full-on punk. The seeds of the recent 'No Feelings' cover are here.

Dying Breeds - beautiful and haunting.

William's Last Words - especially the Underworld remix. Nick captures the vulnerability of the narrator perfectly.

The Future Has Been Here 4-Ever - who needs James? Nick's vocal and Sean's trumpet make this track a bit of a hidden gem that doesn't get the credit it deserves.

As Holy As The Soil (That Buries Your Skin) - did I mention trumpets? Who'd have thought that gospel piano, mariachi trumpets and a Nick vocal would go so perfectly together? A highlight of 'Rewind The Film'.

The Left Behind - easily one of the best songs on RIF, Wire's resigned vocal sums up many of the album's themes, but it's also the most conventionally good singing that he's ever done, suggesting either practice or age has matured and developed his voice.

He's clearly had lessons! Compare the vocals of Bangkok Novotel to The Left Behind and there's a huge improvement.

I like his vocals on 'Ballad' - they're supposed to be rough and punky. A better comparison I think is with Wattsville Blues - mind you, he sings that better on Louder Than War than he does in the studio but you can definitely hear the improvement.

I generally like his vocals later on but the initial stuff like Bangkok and Wattsville I thought was ill-advised, to be honest. He does a great job on The Left Behind and especially Williams Last Words. I do feel that perhaps he jumped the gun by singing before he really worked up to it much, although he does sound good on My Little Empire.

Watsville would literally make no sense for anyone else to sing it. It's a very personal song of Nicky's.
I remember when I first heard it, yeah, my puberty/adolescent self preferred James, but I did like the change.

A few years ago, when Digital Ghost came out, I was in one of my sensitive moods, I was crying. This song felt kinda consoling. And that's how Nicky's voice sounds to me in general - like a warm hug of comfort (yep, even when he's swearing).

He has got better and I enjoy some of his vocals. More the interjections and stuff than the full lead vocals on Manics tracks. I would love to have JDB versions of the Nicky-vocal songs though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dancing Kirby

Fran Healy of Travis was on Absolute yesterday after the Manics set. He said its difficult to sing [....]

... siiiii-iii-iing...sing ... sing sing sing...

(sorry)

__________________'Those Manics are great mun ent'it!'| Miyazaki-San, Arigato | POPCORN!"Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter!"| Porco Tunes: soundcloud.com/fdporco| Newest Track *'Crashed'*[Video]...but the pigs are getting into our garden, and just digging holes, looking for truffles or something "

I dint generally sit there awaiting a new album thinking ‘man, I hope there’s a few Nicky tracks on here’ but I can’t imagine James singing his songs now, and they do feel more personal and meaningful for his singing them.

That said, anyone know why he chose not to sing Liverpool revisited?

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